Oakland knocks out failing defensive coordinator Norton

Considering the Raiders haven’t intercepted a single pass all season, and rank near, or at, NFL bottom in other bellwether defensive statistics, it comes as no surprise Norton is out of a job.

Oakland is 4-6 but remains thick in the AFC wild-card chase.

John Pagano, brother of Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano and the San Diego Chargers’ defensive coordinator from 2012-16, replaces Norton.

Norton – the son of the late Ken Norton Sr., who briefly was world heavyweight boxing champion in the late 1970s – failed in more than two-and-a-half seasons to turn an albeit talent-deprived Oakland defence into anything better than a sieve, especially against the pass.

The Raiders have allowed opposing quarterbacks this season to complete an embarrassing, league-worst 72.2% of their throws for 17 touchdowns and 8.0 yards per attempt, third worst in the league.

“I have the utmost respect for Ken as a person and as a coach, but I feel that moving John Pagano into the play-calling role will best utilize his wealth of experience,” Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said in a statement. “I appreciate Ken’s passion and commitment to the Raiders since coming aboard and wish him the best going forward.”

LYNCH TO START: As it happens, the Broncos play at Oakland this Sunday — under freshly installed offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, who for the past two seasons had coordinated Oakland’s offence.

Not only will new Raiders defensive coordinator Pagano have to study up on Musgrave’s new Denver attack, but on Tuesday numerous reports said the Broncos will promote Paxton Lynch to starting quarterback this week. Brock Osweiler thus joins previously benched Trevor Siemian on the sideline. A report said Siemian will back up Lynch, not Osweiler.

Denver is the third team in the past 12 months to demote Osweiler from No. 1 on the QB depth chart, after the Houston Texans last December and the Cleveland Browns in August.

JERRY WON’T SUE: In an interview Tuesday with USA Today’s Jarrett Bell, Dallas Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones backed down from his threat to sue other NFL owners if commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract extension isn’t as incentive-based as he has insisted since Goodell in early August suspended star Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott for six games.

All 32 league owners last May empowered the chosen six on their compensation committee to negotiate final details with Goodell. Jones had been named an ad hoc committee member representing the wishes of the league’s other 26 owners. But the committee dumped Jones from that role two weeks ago when he publicly threatened to sue them if they didn’t make Goodell’s new deal mostly incentives-based.

After reports said NFL owners would consider revoking Jones’ ownership of the Cowboys if he proceeded with the threatened lawsuit, Jones has reconsidered.

“I want accountability,” Jones told USA Today. “I told the committee that I was standing down on legal action because they wanted to get input from all of the owners.”

That said, Jones isn’t backing down from his stance that the compensation committee ought to send Goodell’s new deal back to all owners to approve, notwithstanding their blanket empowerment of the committee to handle the commish’s new contract details as those six owners see fit.

EXTRA POINTS: Seattle waived 37-year-old edge rusher Dwight Freeney, even though he had three sacks and four QB hits in just 101 snaps over four games as a Seahawk … Dallas LT Tyron Smith, who has battled back and groin injuries, might return Thursday afternoon against the Los Angeles Chargers, Jones told a Dallas radio station … Looks like San Francisco is sticking with rookie QB C.J. Beathard over newly acquired Jimmy Garoppolo, for the time being. GM John Lynch told the San Francisco Chronicle that with “C.J. playing the way he played last week, it gives us an opportunity” to slowly “accelerate” Garoppolo’s development in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offensive system, “but we don’t want to rush it.”

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